By the time they get back to the precinct, Victoria has decided she’s no longer speaking to Jongin for the time being. While this makes Jongin sad – Victoria has proven herself to be a good friend over the past few months – he can’t seem to care nearly as much about her feelings as he does about the envelope he’s clutching in his hands.

He’s practically thrumming with excitement as he makes a mad dash for the privacy of his office.

He’s intercepted before he can get there by Minseok, who has obviously just come from Jongin’s office and is looking for him.

“There you are,” Minseok says, sounding surly. “We’ve got a call. Let’s go.”

“R-right now?” Jongin asks, his grip on the folder tightening.

Minseok quirks an eyebrow at him. “Do you have something better to do, Detective Kim?” he demands. Then he catches sight of what Jongin is holding. “What’s that? Are you already working on a case?”

Jongin quickly plasters a grin on his face. “No, nothing like that. This is just some personal stuff. Let me go put it away in my office and I’ll be ready to go.”

So he has no choice but to lock the file away in one of his desk drawers and head out with Minseok. His heart’s not in it, however, and Minseok is clearly annoyed with his lackluster performance out on the streets.

Even though it’s past time for him to leave when he and Minseok return to the precinct, Jongin doesn’t get in his car and go home. He goes inside, past the night clerk – who giggles at him nervously – and into his office. Finally, finally, he’s going to see what this file says.

His hands are trembling as he takes it out. There are several pieces of paper inside the envelope, though not as many as Jongin would’ve hoped. The first is a sort of dossier on Kyungsoo at the time of his admission into the system. It lists his date of birth, his height, weight, hair and eye color, blood type. There’s a picture of infant Kyungsoo paper clipped to the page, and Jongin hesitates for a moment over the photograph, his heart swelling.

The next page is the application Kyungsoo’s parents – the people Jongin had always believed to be his parents, at least – had submitted before the adoption, including photographs. Following that is Kyungsoo’s birth certificate, but Jongin frowns down at it. In the space where the mother and father are supposed to be listed, there is nothing. It’s blank. There is no parents listed on the birth certificate.

Jongin frowns and looks at the next and final page in the envelope. It’s some sort of form declaring that the mother, at the time of Kyungsoo’s birth, had signed all her rights away to a man named Kim Junmyeon, and that it was he who had arranged for Kyungsoo to be brought into the city and adopted.

Jongin sits back. The file seems to have brought up more questions than it has answered.

He’s still sitting there, lost in his thoughts, when the door open and the Chief comes in, carrying a thick envelope.

He stops, surprised, when he sees Jongin there. “Detective Kim?” he says. “It’s late. What are you still doing here?”

Jongin panics at once, trying to shove all the papers back into the file as unobtrusively as possible. “Oh, nothing sir, I was just about to head home…”

But the Chief isn’t an idiot and he knows when something is up. “Hand me that file,” he says sternly.

Jongin hesitates, momentarily thinking about refusing, but this is the Chief. He can’t. So, hanging his head, he hands the file over.

The Chief glances at the contents briefly. “This is a sealed record from the Seollak-gu Adoption Agency,” he says. “What are you doing with it?”

Jongin opens and closes his mouth several times but no words come out of it.

The Chief looks back at the papers. “Do Kyungsoo, that name rings a bell… Isn’t this that kid who went missing a while back? This case is closed, and these files are supposed to be private.” His eyes flash dangerously. “How did you get this file from the adoption agency?”

Jongin knows he’s been caught. He hangs his head. “I made a fake a warrant for it,” he mutters, not mentioning Victoria’s involvement. Hell will freeze over before he gets her into any more trouble.

The Chief is beyond furious now. “How long have you been looking into this case?” he practically roars. “Ignoring your own work to focus on a cold case that’s been closed for years?”

Again, Jongin finds himself speechless.

The Chief points at the door. “Go,” he hisses. “As of this moment, you are officially suspended from your position at this precinct. Get the hell out of my sight!”

Jongin looks up, alarmed. “A-are you firing me?!”

“Did I say you were fired?” the Chief snarls. “Suspension, Detective Kim, until a formal hearing can be arranged. I suggest you take this time to think about how prison life would suit you.”

Jongin has no choice but to pack up his things and leave his office – perhaps for the very last time. He opens his mouth to ask if perhaps he can take the file with him, but the fierce look on the Chief’s face stops him.

He trudges out with his head hanging low. 

So this is a super short chapter but a) the update came quickly and b) Jongin finally got caught! What's going to happen to him now? And what does Junmyeon have to do with all this?

I'd like to say thank you to everyone who wished me and my husband better health! Unfortunately, my husband was diagnosed with a lifelong disease (it's easily kept under control with medicine, thank goodness). As for me, I should be better, say, around February when I can get rid of this little leech:

(uhhh, just so there's no confusion, this isn't actually a leech, it's a baby...)